Breaking the stigma
New wave of Pacific music
USHERING a new wave of Pacific music, Auckland-based quartet Jamoa Jam arrived in the late 1990s and early 2000s, pioneering a new Pacific sound from their urban Aukilani landscape.
But Lapi Mariner, often referred to as the “voice of the Pacific”, is quick to point to the many musical pioneers that paved the way before the innovative Polynesian group hit the scene, ultimately curating a platform for younger Pacific faces to come through and thrive after them.
“Jamoa Jam started in 1993 and we were singing in night clubs,” he told On the Record.
“We were doing R&B covers. We were doing the Boyz II Men thing, we we’re doing the Jodeci and Blackstreet thing, you know, all those covers.
“How I got into the clubs? I don’t know,” he laughed.
“Lucky, as a 16-year-old to get into nightclubs … but those were the gigs.”
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Lapi Mariner talks big voices and the legacy of a group like Jamoa Jam
Known for their Pacific flavour and strong vocals, it wasn’t until the group was challenged by one of their parents that they decided to move away from covers and create something closer to their cultural roots.
“Sam (Tu’uga’s) mum had come as we were practising in the garage and [asked]: ‘Why don’t you guys sing some Samoan songs or some island songs? … don’t know why you’re singing those songs for?’
“And we laughed about it. But we took on board what Sam’s mum said, and thought.
“Let’s try and revive some of these songs and let’s write some of our own and we’ll see how it goes.”
Delving into ‘Pacific Colours’ with Sosefina
Along with Lapi, original members of the group include Sam Tu’uga, Mike Pau and Fred Lemalu.
Jamoa Jam first performed their song Pacific Colours in 1994 at a Pasifika event held in a town hall in Auckland.
“Pacific colours was a song that we believe embraced the Pacific. And that’s what we wanted to do. We just wanted to embrace everyone,” Lapi said.
“But that was our focus … our goal was really wanting to take … Pacific music to another level. We wanted to break the stigma.
“(And say) you know what? It’s cool to sing our own songs. Because you know, growing up we used to laugh and think, ‘Oh shame’.
“That’s how some of us were. Then we decided, ‘Nah …this is actually a good thing’.
“And so Pacific Colors was always our opener.”
Samoana Soul
To this day, Lapi said he was often asked where their first album was recorded.
“I love telling the story too, because Jamoa Jam’s very first album was recorded inside Sam’s lounge,” he said.
It was the 1990s, and around that time Sam Tu’uga had purchased an Apple Mac.
While transforming the family room into a recording booth would save the group money, the young men had begun to see a shift in the industry.
“We knew technology had started to change as well,” Lapi said. “Nowadays, people are just using studios for just mastering.
“And I remember us setting up the lounge. Honestly, our skills... to see the way we set up the lounge, it was hilarious.”
Collecting potato sacks, gluing stacks of saved egg trays onto the living room walls and wrapping “40-metre curtains around the house” was all part of the bid to transform the living room into Jamoa Jam’s recording booth.
“But it worked … and the rest is history.”
Now it’s your turn Singing in language and leaning into culture while mixing their music with mainstream influences took Jamoa Jam to a new level. But Lapi hopes to see a new wave of talent and voices come through.
“If we look at the amount of artists that are coming through today, wow,” Lapi said.
“Most of them that I’ve spoken to have always thanked us and always acknowledged us for paving the way for them.
“There were times when they would say, ‘You guys are the pioneers’.
“[But] the pioneers for us, growing up, we had the likes of The Yandall Sisters, we had Punialava’a, the Jerome Greys of Samoa, and there’s a whole list of people that I could name that were pioneers to us.
“So we say to them, ‘No, we’re not pioneers … now it’s your turn to take it to the next level’.
“That’s what we want to do ... we want to encourage them and inspire them that they can do better. There’s always someone out there that can take it to the next level.”
We were doing R&B covers. We were doing the Boyz II Men thing, we we’re doing the Jodeci and Blackstreet thing, you know, all those covers.. – Lapi Mariner –